Riviera Maya, Q.R. — The Secretary of Communications and Transport (SICT) says highway work continues between Playa del Carmen and Cancun. While work is being done overall, the current challenge is the large sinkhole that developed in 2015.
José Rafael Lara Días, the Secretary of Public Works of Quintana Roo, says repair work along the highway in general is around 60 percent complete. The work, he says, is being done in coordination with Sedena (Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional or the Ministry of National Defense).
“All the work we are doing on highway 307, which is the responsibility of Sedena and which we are coordinating, are already 60 percent complete. We are promoting these repairs so that the roads are viable and safe,” said Lara Días.
Lara Dias says that although the work and the resources come from the federation, joint supervision is maintained to guarantee a definitive solution to the sinkhole problem that has persisted for nine years.
The sinkhole on the federal 307, which connects Playa del Carmen with Puerto Morelos, continues to be a challenge. Despite efforts made in the past to resolve the hole, they did not provide a definitive solution.
Guido Mendiburo Solís, the General Director of the Quintana Roo Center of the Secretaría de Infraestructura, Comunicaciones y Transportes (SICT), says the sinkhole originated in 2015 when the geological fault appeared between kilometers 303.5 and 311.9 of the highway.
Over the years, federal authorities have tried to mitigate the damage with filling and asphalt, but the sinkhole remains a main concern and challenge. In 2023, the SICT resumed road maintenance after the National Fund for Tourism Development took over the area due to the layout of the Mayan Train.
However, the lack of resources in 2024 delayed the progress of the project. After studies, authorities are hoping to have the sinkhole problem permanently resolved.
Road work is also currently underway on other strategic roads in the state including Chetumal-Bacalar, Bacalar-Felipe Carrillo Puerto and the road from the Cancun International Airport to Puerto Morelos. Last month, the SSC issued a “stay calm” driver warning due to the long lines of backed up traffic with the highway repairs.
